Indonesia’s indigenous community, rights groups slam eviction threat over Nusantara project: ‘violation of rights’

The Balik and Paser tribes living in the Sepaku district of East Kalimantan fear their land will be taken to make way for Nusantara’s core government area

The eviction threat sparked an outcry among villagers and rights groups, leading authorities to put off the planned demolition and deny claims of a land grab

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Directions at Titik Nol Nusantara (ground zero Nusantara), the future capital city for Indonesia, in Sepaku, East Kalimantan. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:00am, 26 Mar 2024Updated: 8:05am, 26 Mar 2024

The indigenous community living adjacent to Nusantara – Indonesia’s new capital city currently under construction in East Kalimantan – is facing potential eviction after officials signalled they would demolish homes in the area and take over their land to support President Joko Widodo’s legacy project.

According to the East Kalimantan branch of the Mining Advocacy Network (Jatam), hundreds of households in the Sepaku district of East Kalimantan, which falls within Nusantara’s core government area, received letters from the new capital’s authority earlier this month asking them to tear down their houses.

The buildings in the four Sepaku villages “are considered not in accordance with the Regional Spatial Planning of the Indonesian Capital City”, the letter said.

A Balik tribe leader visiting a cemetery belonging to the tribe in Sepaku district in East Kalimantan, Indonesia. Photo: AFP

The eviction threat made national headlines and was swiftly met with outcry from rights groups and opponents of the US$30 billion project, which was initiated by Widodo in 2019.

“The letter from [Nusantara Capital City Authority] not only insults the rights of the Sepaku community, including the rights of the Balik tribe who live there, but also puts them at risk of losing their place of residence. This step violates the constitutional rights of citizens and the internationally recognised land rights of indigenous communities,” Usman Hamid, executive director at Amnesty International Indonesia, said in a statement.

“Where did the government’s promise, to build the new capital without evictions, go?”

The East Kalimantan Coalition of Civil Society, which consists of 13 civil groups, denounced the planned demolition and in a statement said “attempts to forcefully remove indigenous peoples under the pretext of violating the New Capital’s Spatial Plan is a form of genocide of Indigenous Peoples”.